Tuesday, June 28, 2011

All Sports, All The Time...

Do you remember a while back when a European couple (Scandinavian, as I recall) named their child ESPN (or Espen, maybe--either way, it was specifically after the sports network)? Maybe we should have named Jacob that, because with him, it's all sports, all the time. Here and there we squeak in another interest--like his stuffed animals or Legos or cars or certain characters (ones that his friends no doubt talk about, as we don't focus on them much in our house!), but really, most of the time Jacob is focused on sports.

As far as obsessions go among toddlers (or is he technically a preschooler now? Yikes!), sports isn't a bad one. It could be annoying characters, shows, movies, or something I have absolutely zero interest in, like construction equipment, cars/trucks, or reptiles. I know that if your kid is passionate about something, you find a way to get interested in those things, but suffice it to say I'm happy I don't have to work hard to enjoy sports. I'll admit that my interest and ability in playing them with him is limited, as he sort of makes his own rules and it's really tedious throwing a ball to a kid who has little chance of catching it--yet. And I know that someday he will and it will all be worth it, but right now it's hard. For me. Craig does much better. And if someday we have a girl, I assume I will be significantly better in the doll playing department than he is.

But for now, Jacob is our one and only, and lately I feel like my one and only subject of photos is him playing those sports...because if I want to take pictures of him, usually that's what he's doing. Last Friday we finally got to go to a long-awaited outdoor lacrosse game. Rochester hasn't had a team in a couple years (they won the championship the year Jacob was born then moved to Toronto), though we did go to a game in Toronto a couple years ago and one game last year when another team played all of their games on the road and the league picked cities to host them. We had wanted to go to another game earlier in the season, but Jacob had a bad evening and we had to stay home.

But Friday all went well and we made it to the game. Craig was working, so I spent the evening keeping Jacob occupied--getting him fed, enjoying our seats, and eventually walking around and playing lacrosse. We worked on a game of catch--he'd shoot the ball with his lacrosse stick, I'd roll the ball back for him to scoop, and so on. Not too bad. By the second half we hung out with the Rowdies (the booster club--same basic group as the Knighthawks' Krew) and Jacob played a bit with his buddy Dylan. It was a nice night (aside from the threat of rain, which only ended up being some sprinkles), and it was fun to be back at a lacrosse game.

While Jacob was playing I snapped a couple pictures, mostly because he was in a good mood and I figured I'd get a smile or two. I got this one, which I think was taken while he was looking up at the scoreboard. I love his big brown eyes...

And I got this smile...I'll take it!

Saturday we headed to Buffalo for a busy weekend. Craig had to go to Hamilton for work, so Jacob and I stayed with my parents. We had to stop at McDonald's on the way out of town, and Jacob fell asleep with his Happy Meal box of McNuggets and fries still on his lap, Red Wings batting helmet still on his head. Poor kid.

We visited my grandma that afternoon, then headed out to my cousin's son's birthday party. As usual, Jacob had a blast playing with his cousins, and I even learned to relax and ignore the fact that he was muddy! He was doing a lot of climbing on a swing set and running around the yard, and I tried to give him some space while keeping an eye and ear open. It all went fine.

Sunday we went to church, welcomed Craig back from Hamilton, had lunch and a nap, visited the baby I mentioned in my last post, and then headed off to my cousin's high school graduation party. Oh, and Jacob stayed dry ALL day. After a dry overnight. And no, it hasn't happened again since. Anyway...I managed to snap a couple cute pictures. Here's Jacob with the cookie he snatched off the snack table. He's also modeling one of his birthday gifts from Uncle John, Aunt Kristin, and Kate--an Oregon Ducks baseball jersey. Not surprisingly, he loves it!

Finally, here he is working on his newest sporting endeavor--throwing the ball up and trying to catch it. He tried very hard and had a couple close ones. It's not a bad skill to work on, and hopefully he'll be catching them before we know it!

The rest of the weekend was pretty much more of the same--golf with Grandma and Grandpa, a touch of volleyball and basketball at the party on Saturday, and even some Norwegian (ladder) golf on Sunday. It was a constant stream of one sport or another. Sometimes I wish that Jacob had more varied interests, but I suppose that when it comes to Jacob, he wouldn't be who he is without sports. I'm sure he'll get a little more balanced as he gets older, but for now, this is what we've got. We'll take it.